


Helplessness

by Coalmine301



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Anakin goes through all 5 stages of greif at once, Canon Compliant, Episode: s04e15 Deception, Gen, Heavy Angst, no beta we die like assholes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:08:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27951326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coalmine301/pseuds/Coalmine301
Summary: He keeps his head down, his abilities hidden.And that’s how Anakin Skywalker first learns of helplessness.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 2
Kudos: 62





	Helplessness

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the WHump Advent Prompt "Burns"

If there was one thing Anakin Skywalker hated above all else, it was helplessness. 

Growing up a slave the blonde was taught at a young age about power. How the slave masters lorded it over their captives. How the slaves bowed to the looming figures 

But Anakin SKywalker was different from the other slaves. Anakin Skywalker was born with boundless power at his fingertips. He could easily tear a slaver asunder if he desired, never laying a hand on that scum. 

But as he learned about power, he learned about fear. Especially the dreaded crack of the electrowhip.

So he keeps his head down, his abilities hidden.

And that’s how Anakin Skywalker first learns of helplessness.

He despises this feeling, of having infinite power and yet none at all. The inability to do anything, help anyone. Not even his own mother.

Head down. Powers hidden. 

So Anakin Skywalker learned to hate helplessness. Especially helplessness combined with his loved ones’ on the line.

But then the Jedi came, brought him to the Temple, accepted him into their fold. 

Here people walked freely with a power -his same power- wrapped around their shoulders. They dipped their heads to each other, yet respect shone in each of their eyes. Not fear, not dominance, but complete and utter mutual respect.

Here Anakin’s chains were lifted. Heer he was encouraged to test and expand his powers, spreading intangible mighty wings.

Of course there were still restrictions even here. 

Restraint. It was something he had trouble with. And, as a boy who went from nothing to everything, it was somewhat justified.

Each day his powers grew further and further until he felt his strength could blot out the sun. yes, he had grown to be very powerful. More powerful than perhaps even the great and mighty Jedi Council had ever dreamed of.

Yet, even with all this boundless power at his fingertips, there were still times Anakin found himself completely and utterly helpless. 

The bang of a sniper balster. A sharp cry abruptly cut off.

Anakin whirled around to see a blur of crema tumble off the adjacent rooftop.

A brilliant presence in the Force, the one that revolved around him since the start, shatters like glass. 

Anakin’s heart sank. ‘No!’

Obi-wan landed hard, crashing onto a pile of stacked crates before slamming brutally onto the unforgiving duracrete. The bearded man lay so still and for a moment Anakin feared-

“Obi-wan!”

“I got him!” Ahsoka called back, meeting his terrified gaze. “Go!”

Motion catches his eye and Anakin glanced over to see the murderer dart across a rooftop. The blonde grits his teeth as rage builds within him. Like hell is he letting that scum slink away.

With a touch of the Force the blonde leaps effortlessly onto the roof behind the bounty hunter. Said bounty hunter who wisely starts running even faster, not willing to take his chances with a pissed off Jedi. 

The chase is cut abruptly short by a well-timed smoke bomb. By the time he waves the smoke from his eyes the assassin is gone.

A single thought, a name, floats through his mind.

‘Obi-wan!’

The blonde turns, sprinting back towards his fallen mentor. He drops from the roof, barely bothering to slow his fall and his ankles scream in protest, to rush to his best friend’s side.

Obi-wan is laid out in Ahsoka’s lap, beautiful eyes closed. His face is lax as if in sleep. He almost looks peaceful…

If not for the burning wound in his chest.

A charcoal patch glares sharply from surroundings of pale cream. A charcoal patch directly over his brother’s heart. A heart whose beats Anakin can’t feel.

“How is he?” The blonde asks. He already knows the answer.

Ahsoka stares up at him, eyes brimming with tears. Her lips move as if to form words. None come, blocked by a dam of shock.

Anakin’s gut instantly knows what that means. Even as his heart screams in denial. 

“Obi-wan? Obi-wan,” he grabs the redhead’s shoulders, trying to shake him awake.

No response. His brother flops limply like a ragdoll. Obi-wan isn’t even cold yet, surely that means he’s not really… he hasn’t been… surely there’s still a chance of saving him.

The gaping hole in the Force suggests otherwise. 

‘No, no you can’t do this to me, old man,’ Anakin snarls, shaking the limp corpse. ‘We were supposed to go down together. In a brilliant blaze of glory, remember?’

“Obi-wan!” Anakin screams, begging the still form of his best friend -his brother in all but blood- to open his eyes. To give a snarky quip. To chide him for letting the bounty hunter escape.

Something, anything! 

No response. The corpse lies as still and cold as ever.

It’s only then the loss finally registers. 

Obi-wan lays lifeless on an ordinary Coruscanti street.

Anakin is helpless to protect him and helpless to save him. Two things his brother trusted him with, two very simple things. Things he had accomplished countless times before. Things he should have been able to do tonight.

And Anakin has failed. 

Perhaps he’s not so powerful after all.

Perhaps he never was...


End file.
